What non-competitive XC / light trail / “downcountry” tyre combo do you run?

Morning all. I’ve been running a Nobby Nic front / Racing Ralph rear combo on my 27.5 Giant Anthem for three years now and will need to replace the rear tyre soon. I’ve been relatively happy with this combo for the type of riding that I do but am interested in alternatives.

I only have space at home for one bike so have the Anthem set up as an do-it-all XC / light trail bike with a 130mm fork. My local riding is classic XC stuff i.e. relatively flat and sedate, but with some nice steep, loose and punchy climbs with equally worthwhile descents.

I live in Central Spain where the trails can be bone dry even in December and January so I don’t need to run the kind of tractor tyres I would need back home (Magic Mary / Maxxis Minion / HRII etc). A fast rear tyre with something more grippy but still fast rolling up front is ideal. I don’t race so prefer trade extra grip on the front for a bit of rolling resistance, as long as there’s not too much extra drag.

I have found the Racing Ralph to be an exceptional rear tyre, in the old trailstar compound. However, this year Schwalbe have changed the tread pattern and the compound to focus more on competitive XC racing so I’m not sure if it will still be suitable.

I am a big Schwalbe fanboy but am open to other manufacturers’ wares. Currently running 25mm internal DT Swiss rims so tyres in the 2.25-2.35″ are ideal.

Bonty XR3 front, Crossmark rear.

Might not be the ultimate combo for ‘short, loose’ climbs. Was running an XR1 at the back this year but there’s not much in it. XR2 might be the sweet spot.

Forekaster up front offers a bit more grip, still fast-rolling.

Ran vittoria saguaro rear and barzo front for a while. You might be able to saguaro front an rear

Ardent front, ikon rear.

If I were to build a bike for that sort of riding now I think I would be looking at either the new Schwalbe nobby nic in soft compound for the front and either the same in a harder compound rear or something like a Ralph.

Or the new bontrager XR3 rear and XR4 front.

I’m a Maxxis person – for that exact use you describe I ran Ardent Race front, and Ikon rear, 2.3

Note – make sure you get the 2.3 Ardent race not the narrower one (2.2?) theres a big difference in grip and knob size(!) .

The Ikon on the rear is impressive too.

During Winter I swap the Ardent race to the rear and have a Forekaster up front.

I always run DHR2s on my ‘big’ bike so I’m familair with the difference between the two. Maxxis site lists all the weights too which is useful.

This webstie in the US has a number of really good Maxxis tyre summaries/reviews:

https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/maxxis-tires-simplified-the-best-mtb-tire-combos-for-your-bike-video

https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/blogs/worldwide-cyclery-blog/which-maxxis-tire-is-right-for-you

Based on what I ahve in the garage, I am planning on running a MAxxis Forekaster Front, vittoria mezcal rear when it dries up this spring/ summer for xc/trail duties with (hopefully) some racing. I’d normally use rocket ron/barzo fr and racing ralph/mezcal rear; to be honest I’ve never had an issue with that combo, but I’m hoping the forekaster will make tings a bit more fun

Minion SS on the back – really fast apparently

Another vote for Saguaro, maybe a mezcal up front if you need more bite, but saguaro handles 3 seasons of the dales just fine on the front

Minion SS on the back – really fast apparently

its alright. not as fast as an ikon.  its also really easy to tear on the centre section.

XR4/XR3 would suit. Nice 2.4 volume and the current XR3 is like a semi slick, but with the XR4 shoulder knobs.

I also run an ardent race on the front and ikon rear.

Vittoria Barzo front & Mezcal rear.

Minion SS on a narrow rim (sub 23mm) is fastish and good when cornering.

Minion 2.3/Rekon 2.25 is good combo, Rekon on the front depending how brave you are getting.

Minion SS, its alright. not as fast as an ikon. its also really easy to tear on the centre section.

I run one on the rear on my HT plus ran one during last years lockdown on my FS, and living in Scotland it sees a lot of rocks – never had an issue.

Are you running it tubed though? For me 20psi and tubeless.

And how did you get 3 years out of a pair of tyres? #getoutmore

Ardent Race is a good shout in 2.35I’m running a Dissector up front and Rekon out back, liking it so far and more versatile than the other options, at a cost of some speed, but worth it.

I run nobby nic 2.6 front and rear during winter on my 650b wheelset and Maxxis ardent 2.4 front and rekon 2.4 rear on 29er wheelset during the winter (on the hardtail)

I did like the Racing Ralph of old on the rear of my 29er HT but, having worn mine out last year, I was looking for something a bit stronger/supportive in the sidewalls (found the RR a bit squirmy on trails on the rear when I ran it at the sort of pressure I liked for XC/Gravel) but still with low rolling resistance so took a punt on the Smart Sam DD….actually pitched at ebikes(!) but works well for my use set up tubeless Smart Sam DD – Schwalbe E-Bike-Tires (e-biketires.com) Reasonably cheap too as considered ‘Performance’ range so picked one up for £26 last April

Bonty XR3 up front, XR2 in the back. If it’s going to be sloppy then bump the numbers by one.

I think Minion SS is too draggy for xc, very noticeable on tarmac

Ralph on back is ideal. Not sure why Schwalbe making the new version faster is a problem. You wouldn’t really run a Ralph for grip…

I got on well with a Specialized Slaughter on the rear – preferred it to the Ikons/RR etc I’ve used previously. It’s tad heavy though. Ran it with a Forecaster up front.

Thanks all, some really good suggestions here.

I’ve seen that the Bonty XR2/3/4s get recommended on here quite a lot and my LBS is a Vittoria dealer so might do some more research into these.

And how did you get 3 years out of a pair of tyres? #getoutmore

Sadly not had as much time on the MTB as I would have liked due to family / work commitments. Hoping to up the mileage this year though.

@snotrag – Thanks for the links re: Maxxis tyre range. I’ve always been intimidated by the sheer number of tyre treads they do. I’ll check them out tonight and see if I can deduce which ones would work for my riding.

Ikon and Rekon race from what you describe
I take it you run ust, and its not rocky
Try an Ikon fr ans Aspen rr. Might be a little skinny, the Aspen, might be perfect
I am also a bontrager xr fan used to run xr4 alll year round as it was chunky enough but not too porky
But the difference is very noticeable when our trails dry out and the summer tyrs go on. Less clothes, less stiction and dust

I use Schwalbe tyres because of their supportive but light casing. I was able to run much lower pressures than on Specialized tyres and get much less bounce and squirm. I went from 35psi to 23 in the 2.3s Ralphs on my rigid 29er with all the associated benefits. On my XC bike I use Rocket Rons in 2.1, mainly because there’s not a lot of room in the frame. I could go for 2.2s probably but I don’t feel it’s holding me back. Rons aren’t the best slop tyre but they are good *enough* and I leave them all year because they are also great in soft summer conditions.

The only thing is that I take care to order the right version. There are loads of Schwalbe versions around ranging from crap to good and it’s quite hard to be sure you’re getting the right one.

Personally for the riding described I’d go for an Ardent over an Ardent Race – I’ve got both and would prefer the bigger tyre for rocky riding especially if used to a Nobby Nic.

Dissector front, spec ground control rear.

I’d say rekon front over ardent. Seems to be a bit faster and a bit gripper.

I generally think if you can afford a ‘fast’ tyre like that up front, you can go ‘very fast’ on the back, so my usual recommendation is an aspen rear, but I don’t think you can get it in a useful width in 27.5 so maybe rekon or ikon race if you want to stay maxxis?

Whichever bontrager used to be the chupacabra (xr2?) is pretty good too.

A few have mentioned Ikon – I’ll re-iterate again – its a really good rear, especially somewhere dry like Spain. Its a bit like a massive Gravel Bike tyre.

Usefully fast on tarmac too.

Has anyone come up with the official STW fastest to slowest ranking of XC rear tyres?

2.35″ Nobby Nic (latest 2021 version, Addix Soft compound) up front, and probably a Racing Ray (rather than Ralph, put Ralph back on for XC) on the back in Addix Speedgrip… Or Maybe even a Rock Razor if you’re in central Spain and the trails are predominantly rocky/dry. 👍🏻

I’d go for a Rock Razor, I think they’re a great rear tyre, they’re surprisingly better in mud than you’d expect, I think the side lugs seem to give grip as the tyre sinks in.

Specialized Captain on the front and Rockrazor on the back. Captain was so good they, er, discontinued it but you can still sometimes find them.

Vee Tire Co Snap Trail on the front and Rail Escape on the back. A bit unusual but excellent combo currently!

I also run an Escape on the front and Tracker rear when I want something a bit faster rolling.

I’ve run the recon front / aspen back combo and really liked it, for muddier conditions I’ve gone forecaster front / recon rear

Umm
The op lives in Central Spain
I dont think mud is much of an issue
Lucky fella